Meet Us

Stillwater’s staff are Walraven Ketellapper, Ken Vaught and Sara Morison. We collaborate well and are partners in the business opportunities we develop.

Walraven Ketellapper founded Stillwater Resources in 1987 to facilitate water transactions between buyers and sellers. Walraven has been involved in various aspects of the water business since 1977.

In addition to other private sector positions, he spent two years with the California Governor's Office, helping to write the California Water Atlas. Walraven also worked for the City of Thornton, Colorado Water and Sewer Utility, where he directed water rights acquisitions and transfers, water quality and finance. He has testified as an expert witness in both state and federal courts, spoken before academic and professional organizations regarding water rights and water markets and has published articles on water.

Walraven holds a BA from the University of California at Davis in Geography and International Relations and completed graduate work in Geography and Water Resources at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is affiliated with the American Water Resources Association - Colorado Section and is a licensed real estate broker in Colorado.

Walraven's interests include: hanging out with his family, skiing, hiking, travel and jazz.

Ken Vaught joined Stillwater Resources in 2008 as Senior Vice President for Water Rights after spending thirty years with the Coors Brewing Company. At Coors, Ken was responsible for developing, managing and optimizing the company’s water resources portfolio, including 15,000 acre-feet of yield and reservoirs with a total capacity of 10,000 acre-feet. In an over-appropriated basin, he was responsible for protecting the company’s water assets against diminution in quality or quantity caused by regulatory or judicial actions, and the activities of other water users. He also acted as field manager for two subsidiary irrigation companies.

Ken has served on the board of directors for several irrigation companies on the eastern and western slopes of Colorado. He is affiliated with the North American Lake Management Society, is a member of both the State Affairs Committee of the Colorado Water Congress and the Upper Clear Creek Water Users Association, and is the former Vice President of the Clear Creek Water Alliance.

Prior to joining Coors, Ken worked for the U.S.G.S. in Texas and Colorado and at a private engineering company specializing in water rights analysis. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Science from Tarleton State University and has completed additional course work in business and natural resources.

Ken’s interests include: fly-fishing, hiking and the great outdoors.

At Stillwater, Ken evaluates water rights projects for potential acquisition and directs the development process, including water change applications, for projects we develop. Ken also is our presence on the western slope of Colorado.

Sara Morison joined Stillwater Resources in 2008 after spending over eight years in the legal field as an administrative assistant and paralegal. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1999 from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She then went on to earn a Paralegal Certificate from the Denver Paralegal Institute in Denver, Colorado in 2004. Sara is also a Broker licensed in the State of Colorado.

During her career, she has also devoted many of her free hours to helping at-risk youth, including time as a Youth Counselor at a residential treatment facility in Minneapolis, and as a volunteer at Big Brothers Big Sisters in Colorado. She also worked with some of the more than 63,000 Minnesota Refugees that arrived between the years of 1983 and 2006 to assist them in locating housing and employment. She spent two years as a Girl Scout Brownie Troop leader.

Sara’s interests include: spending time with her family, reading, hiking, music and theatre.
At Stillwater, Sara is an Associate Broker involved in water rights transactions, she also completes research, manages transactions and administers contracts and closings and manages water projects.